The Dangers of Social Media

Carissa Perry-Smith

Staff Writer

    Social networking is intended to be a fun way to connect with friends and family. However, if the person is not using it properly then it could be more harmful than enjoyable. Students especially need to realize the dangers of sending and or posting inappropriate or explicit pictures. Things posted online could ruin a person’s chances of getting into a university, get a person in trouble at work or fired, and can ultimately put the person at risk for sexual predators. 

    A person is not able retract what they send once they send it. That is why it is most important not to send nude pictures to anyone. Once you send it, that person has free reign to send or post the pictures wherever they please. Once a picture is shared the sky is the limit as to where it can go via the world-wide web. 

    According to www.dosomething.org, 22 percent of high school age teens and 33 percent of college students have been involved in some form of “sexting”. 17 percent of “sexters” share the messages they receive with others, and 55 percent share them with more than one person.  

    On Wednesday Feb. 5, the Pembroke Pines Police Department received a complaint about students as young as 12 years of age having their naked pictures posted via social media. Since then they have heard from over 20 victims who have found their pictures online. 

    The main social media website that these pictures are being posted on is Instagram. Multiple accounts with similar names were created to prevent police from tracking the accounts. Police say that these pictures could have been stolen from students’ cellphones without their knowledge or consent.

    “Everyone was shouting the page out on Instagram so they could be accepted and see the pictures. I reported the accounts multiple times. Whoever did this is disgusting,” said BC student Dominique Brito.

    Investigators are still unsure about how many people are involved in creating the accounts.

Detective Mike Silver said that the creators could be facing either state or federal charges. Anyone who possessed or transmitted these pictures could also be looking at charges, even the victims. Child pornography is considered a felony. 

    Whoever posted these pictures also asked followers to send them additional pictures with the victim’s name, age, and the school they attend. The victims are from schools all over Broward County; most of which are underage. 

    The Broward School District police and the FBI have also joined the investigation.

“People need to be aware of what data they have on their phone. It’s better not to have it so it can’t be uploaded without the consent of the sender,” said Silver.

    Students need to be aware that anything they send to friends or family via text or e-mail can end up on social networking websites. They also need to understand that anything they post could get them into trouble or could be blown out of context. 

    If you don’t want your private moments or images to end up in a social network site, avoid having or taking any “inappropriate” snapshots. You never know who will see them, it could be your future university and/or employer.